MATHEW de Kock was most excited after Puget Sound had beaten competitive field in a 1450m contest at Turffontein on Sunday.

This was the experimental Onamission Syndicate’s second win from three runs with two-year-old Puget Sound. He proved that he has the mettle to develop into a decent three-year-old feature contender and that he has courage and heart, borne from jockey Piere Strydom’s comment that he wasn’t scared to force himself through a narrow gap to win the race. He likes to win, and that is an admirable treat in any racehorse that spells much future promise.

The Onamission Syndicate is made up of over 100 shareholders. The R120,000 purchase was syndicated in blocks of 1% shares between existing and a host of new owners and the stable’s grooms. Shares in two further syndicated yearlings are being sold at the moment, and as a result of Puget Sound’s success, they are understandably “flying” out.

Puget Sound (4) barged his way through.

“Syndication has to be the future of racing,” said Charles Savage, who helped Mat to set up the small share-concept based on his success at the award-winning Easy Equities.

The Fun Box at Turffontein had roughly 15 shareholders present on Sunday – none knew each other from a bar of soap but they were jumping around celebrating like old friends after Puget Sound’s gooseflesh-win. He was going to run fourth with 150m to go, but powered his way through runners and won, easing down to boot.

Part-owner Colin Ford did speech duties and said: “This is my first horse and my first runner was a winner. I’m so excited, being in the winner’s box feels like the norm!”

Mathew reported this morning: “Puget Sound took the race very well. We are obviously all over the moon with his performance. Yesterday’s run was a solid indicator that he has ability and more importantly that he is maturing well.

“He is a CTS Ready To Run graduate and qualifies for the R2,5-million race in October/November. So that has to be our main goal. As his form stands now we are pretty confident he will qualify for the race so we don’t want to blemish his record by forcing a run on him unnecessarily. There are a few races in Durban but the track is unfair and he would have to draw very well for us to even consider running.

“Based on yesterday’s run and the time he took to unwind, we think the 1400m race on July day will be too short for him as Greyville is a very tight track. The 1600m on Gold Cup day, 29 July, is more of an option. We are not going to rush into making any decision, we’ll keep him in full training and play it by ear.”

Mike de Kock sent his congratulations to the owners from Durban, saying: “Well done you all, this is a courageous little horse with a big heart. This is what our sport is all about!”

Bred By Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein, Puget Sound is by Sail From Seattle from La Bella Donna, by Trempolino.

Puget Sound, bright and alert this morning, with groom Sonke.